The city’s Housing Production Plan goals may be achieved under the guise of a conservation land grab
Mayor Edward “Ted” Bettencourt of Peabody launched a 2021 Net Zero Climate Action Plan Process to achieve net zero emissions,[1] aligning with the Massachusetts Climate Change Timeline. This timeline states:
“Natural and working lands” refers to farm and ranch lands, forests, grasslands, freshwater and riparian systems, wetlands, coastal and estuarine areas, watersheds, parks, urban and community forests, trails, and other open spaces.
Using 1990 emission levels as a baseline, the state aims to further slash emissions in this sector by another 19% by 2025 and 25% by 2030.
To this end, the state plans to permanently conserve 63,400 more acres of undeveloped land and water by 2025 and 167,000 acres by 2030. (Currently, 1.4 million acres have permanent protection.)”[2]
Thankfully, the Mayor has acquired, by “friendly” eminent domain, close to 80 acres of grassland in Peabody, because we don’t want Peabody to resemble Beverly and Salem with their towering luxury apartment and condominium complexes, consuming the historic surroundings that date back to the 1600s.
On the other hand, the Peabody Housing Production Plan updated in 2021, on page 92 [3], suggests promoting the Nontraditional Housing Models to produce new housing for low-and moderate-income individuals and families to rent as well as opportunities for starter housing, downsizing, and special needs facilities, also known as co-housing. These developments are cooperative neighborhoods, typically with homes clustered around a common building with facilities that are shared by all residents (dining room, kitchen, playrooms, library). Sounds like the makings of a Smart City. That’s a whole other story for later.
This same Housing Production Plan states that the poverty level in Peabody from the 2017 Census was reported to be 5,156, or 9.8%. The U.S. Census, as of July 2022, reports that Peabody has 8.1% or 4,366 residents living at the poverty level.[4] That doesn’t appear to be a good sign over six years, considering the Mayor has been in office for eleven years.
Could it be possible that the nontraditional housing will be built and used to assist those in poverty on that preserved 80 acres of grassland? Only Mayor Bettencourt can answer this question.
Stay tuned for more questions for Mayor Bettencourt.
by Citizens for Truth Contributor
Sources
[1] https://itemlive.com/2021/12/05/peabody-plays-key-role-in-climate-project/
[2] https://www.wbur.org/news/2022/07/05/massachusestts-climate-change-timeline
[4] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/peabodycitymassachusetts,MA,US/PST045222
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